Help! 10 or 11 day old kits size issue : Kindling and Care of Does and Kits

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Hi, so we had an oops litter. Doe must have been mounted within the hour of giving birth. Four week old kits seem to be fine (I have them in the lower of a double hutch. One is still huge compared to the other but both happy.

New litter is sized so oddly. I don't know what to do for the smaller two or if they are normal and the huge one is a false dwarf. how do I even post pictures?

Hi Solace13! I wonder if you could give us a bit more detail about what has happened. I'm confused how you could have both a month-old litter and a ten-day-old litter from the same doe. Gestation is normally around 30-31 days. Also, you mention the possibility of false dwarfs. Could you tell us what breed you are dealing with, or what breeds are crossed if they are not purebreds? It's hard to discuss size of kits without more information. Thanks!

My experience is entirely with standard size meat mutts, so I'm not sure how much help I can be. But let's give it a try while we wait for others to chime in. For some reason not many people have been on in the past day or so.

The doe certainly does not look like a Netherland Dwarf to me, though the rounded head may indicate some ND blood. You don't mention what the buck is like . . . Could be the large kit has different genetic make-up from the two smaller ones. The size difference is certainly more than one would expect. The brown kit looks normal enough to me and is certainly not skinny, but the grey kit looks rather puny. Are they being fed enough? Do their bellies look nice and rounded or are they kind of shriveled and sunken? At ten days, they may begin to nibble solid foods if they are provided. Large-flake, old-fashioned kitchen oatmeal is a good food for kits, as is grass-hay. They may also nibble the doe's pellet food once they are out of the nest box.

There are several "sticky" topics about hand-feeding kits and about how to tell if they are being fed. You will find them at the top of the index for the Kindling and Care of Does and Kits forum.

Sometimes there is a hidden health or developmental problem that keeps a kit from thriving. Some people choose to euthanize such kits to prevent suffering. Others try to help them along with supplemental feedings. With only three kits in the litter, the doe should be able to nourish all of them, but it could be that the tiny kit just can't compete and is being crowded out. It could also be just too weak to feed properly. I would remove the very large kit for one feeding --- it is so enormous that missing one meal will not harm it --- and see how the little one's tummy looks after it has a chance to tank up. If it can't feed fully with favoured treatment, then chances are that it is not going to make it without a lot of extra care and supplementation.

Please understand that this answer is an opinion only, based on somewhat scanty information. Only you, as the rabbits' owner and the one with complete opportunity for observation, can make decisions regarding this kit.

I supplement with goats milk if I think they are not getting fed. It has been my experience that eventually smaller rabbits catch up in size. It just takes longer. I usually only have to supplement a few times before they are strong enough to get in there and get mommas milk themselves but it is entirely up to you whether you want to go that route. When the rabbits are off of Mom's milk and not gaining weight, it has been my experience that sometimes there is a dominant rabbit in the grow out cage that is not allowing that rabbit to eat. When that happens, I will try moving the dominant rabbit to its own cage.